Posts Tagged "Mobile Industry"

Android OS Market Share Steadily on the Rise

In the mobile industry, the hand phone operating system (OS) is currently being dominated by Apple’s iPhone. The Apple iPhone is still the leading OS in the marketplace, with no sign of slowing down. In fact, other competitors like RIM, WinMO, Palm and Symbian have all posted southward trends. If there is no new player entering the market, it seems like the iPhone OS is set to take over the entire market.

The primary reason behind iPhone’s huge success is that the OS allows third party applications to be installed in the phone. These applications are developed by third party software developers, and distributed through the Apple’s official website. Having an open platform allows developers to respond quickly to consumers’ requests. There is no need to wait for Apple to release apps. Based on the feedback received, developers can release useful applications in a matter of weeks. So far, no other OS has been able to match this capability. To date, the Apple iPhone has already captured an estimated 50% market share.

Fortunately, there is a new player in town – the Android OS. This new contender in the marketplace is developed by Google, and is based on a similar open concept. Developers can develop apps using managed code in Java. As Java is a mature programming language, many developers will have little problems picking up the development work. While the Android OS is still far from overtaking the iPhone, it is catching fast. In fact, it is the only mobile OS to have posted an upward trend (besides iPhone of course). In just a few short months, it has captured a market share of 5%.

As this is a new OS, only HTC has released Android supported phones – namely, the G1. Since the G1 phone is a new release, it is mainly used to gather information from the market place. Consumers who have picked up the phone are providing priceless feedback to the company. Based on the feedback, the next generation of the Android phone is currently being developed (the G2). Enthusiasts in the blogosphere are watching the developments very closely. So far, a lot of interest has been shown in the development of the Android phone.

This new development poses exciting possibilities. Other mobile companies would be keen to manufacture Android phones so that they remain relevant and competitive in the marketplace. Samsung and Sony Ericsson are both rumored to be working on Android phones. China telecommunications giant, Huawei Technologies, already announced that they will be releasing an Android phone for the Chinese market in the third quarter.

It will be interesting to observe the developments when more and more companies start to manufacture Android phones. Will iPhone be threatened in the marketplace? How will consumers choose between the iPhone and the Android phone? Much depends on the applications developed by the third party developers. The OS with the most active platform will eventually emerge as the winner.

Visit TAP (Top Android Phones) for the latest news on Android Phones.

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Dell Launches Three Android-Based Smart Phones, Moves Into Mobile Industry

Tom Schavo asked:




Dell has always expanded its portfolio of hardware over the years in the distribution of Dell-branded peripherals, cameras, printers, televisions, PDA’s and others. Now it has ventured into the field of smart phones, when earlier this year they announced about it. Dell has unveiled the Android-based Mini 3 smart phone yesterday and has expressed about its availability soon in China and Brazil.

Today the industry is crowded with smartphones and the competition is simply tough. Since Dell is already losing out on the core business it is into, the company needs to understand its standing if it is foraying into this area as there are already the other leading mobile companies expanding their businesses with smartphones, extensively. For instance, Apple with its iPhone, Samsung Behold II, etc.

The Dell’s move into the smartphones venture is a deliberate calculated strategy, as the mobile phones today have rather become the mobile computing devices. Actually the Mini 3 is not a new directional branch in a way, but it is a natural evolution of the Dell’s core market. Dell meets Nokia on the way in the middle as the flip side to this evolution is Nokia because Nokia has already sensed the mobile computing in future and so it has the Booklet 3G netbook.

There are no apprehensions on the part of Dell with the idea behind launching in China and not in U.S., as doubted by other mobile providers in the market. The China mobiles alone has a subscriber base nearly double the entire U.S. market. And the parent provider to the Dell, America Movil, will be the distributor in Brazil as it has more subscribers than Verizon and AT&T combined (as they both dominate the U.S. mobile market). Perhaps, the total mobile phone industry in U.S. is about 270 million and Dell would have to invest in the arrangement that would limit the market to less than 90 million.

The demand for mobile devices is more in Europe and Asia. Diving into the highly competitive market of smartphones is a big challenge for Dell. But if it can make through for the Mini 3 in the Chinese market, then it doesn’t have to try too hard to get into the U.S. market. So what is now watchable is how this would get revenues for the company.

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